Did you highlights end up blotchy?
Go to a mirror and take a close look at your hair:
- Do you have small circular marks like drops at your roots?
- Are parts of your roots bleached?
Don’t worry, both of those problems have a solution, and I’ll tell what that solution is in a moment.
But, before we get going, I should say: If you don’t have much experience with coloring your hair, then I’d recommend going to a salon where a professional can help you solve the problem.
Highlights are a technique that involves bleaching your hair with the help of an aluminum foil or a latex cap.
It’s possible that when you use the bleach mix on your hair, your roots can get stained, leaving them blotchy.
The solution to this problem is to use dye on your roots to cover the blotchy area.
But, you’re probably asking yourself: How?
That’s the key to fixing those blotchy highlights.
You should only use the dye on your roots, and you need to apply it in a way that doesn’t just create a straight dividing line on your hair.
Does that sound hard?
I’ll tell you exactly how the process of evening your roots out works from start to finish.
Then you can decide if you’re up to doing it on your own at home or if it’s a better idea to go to a professional hair colorist.
Shall we?
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How do you fix highlights that have blotchy spots?
The solution is simple: You should use dye on your roots to cover the blotches.
We’ve already established that, but why do you even have those blotches in the first place?
Like I said in the beginning, you can do highlights in two different ways:
- With a latex or silicon cap
- With aluminum foil
In general, these kinds of spotty blotches happen when you get highlights with a cap.
When you pull small bits of hair through the holes in the cap, it is possible that the cap can break.
That happens if your hair colorist doesn’t perfectly detangle your hair beforehand or if they separate out areas of hair that are thicker than they should be.
Then, if they use the bleach mix on your hair with the broken cap, small drops of the mix can slip through to your roots, leaving those ugly blotches.
The solution is to use dye over those blotches, that are actually bleached hair.
Now, what color should you choose?
That depends on what you like: you can use a dark color on your roots, or you can use a color similar to your hair color under the highlights you’ve just gotten.
If you use a dark-colored dye:
Dark roots, particularly brown, dark brown and medium brown, have been on trend recently in the hair world.
You need to be very careful when you choose the color for your roots so it complements your highlights.
- If your highlights are blonde 8 or lighter blonde 9, you can choose a light brown 6 or a medium brown 5
- If your highlights are platinum 10, you can use a dark blonde 7
- If your highlights are light brown 6 or dark blonde 7, you can use a brown 4 or a dark brown 3
That way, you’ll perfectly cover the blotches and your highlights will look even.
If you choose a lighter dye:
Like I said before, you can choose a dark color or the current color of your hair that doesn’t have highlights.
You must have noticed that when you got your highlights, the hair colorist didn’t separate out all of your hair to bleach.
You can choose a dye that’s the color of the hair that didn’t get highlighted.
You’ll have to be very careful when you choose this color, and I recommend that if you opt to do this, you go to a salon so they can tell you exactly what color to choose or so a hair colorist can fix the blotches.
Do you know why?
If you use a dye that’s a different color than the base color under your highlights, you’ll end up with three different colors in your hair:
- The color of the highlights
- The color of the rest of your hair
- The color that you just used
If that happens, the only solution would be to use one uniform color on the rest of your hair, and you’d end up losing the highlights you love.
So, you need to be very careful when it comes to choosing which color you want to use if you plan to use your base color.
Once you’ve decided on the color, all you have to do is use it on your hair.
How you apply the dye to your hair is extremely important:
- Comb through your hair until you’re sure there aren’t any knots left.
- Part your hair down the middle so you can see the blotches in your hair perfectly clearly while you use the mix on your hair
- Add all of the developer cream and dye that come in your color kit to a plastic bowl
- Mix well until you have a thick, smooth cream
- Use the dye on your roots, brushing it about 1.5-2.5 inches from your roots
- You can use a dye brush or a rat tail comb to do so
- If you feel more comfortable with a dye brush, all you have to do is use the dye on your hair and paint the dye vertically into your hair in different lengths
- Then you can separate out another portion of your hair and repeat
- You should do that until you’ve finished your entire head
- Once you’ve finished using the dye, let it sit for 40 minutes
- Once that time has gone by, rinse your hair, and use the post color treatment on your hair
If you follow this application technique, you’ll make sure that there isn’t a strange dividing line between your roots and your highlights.
All you have to do is be very careful not to leave any area of your roots without dye.
That’s it! You’ll see that the blotchy areas at your roots are totally gone.
How do you fix bleached roots after highlights?
The other kind of blotchy areas that can happen after you get highlights are bleached roots.
These blotches are more common when you get foil highlights.
Even though your highlights go from root to ends, you should always leave at least half an inch without bleach at the roots.
That’s so your highlights don’t end up too blonde, since your roots lighten so easily because they’re “virgin” hair.
If that happened to you, the solution to your bleached roots is to use a dye to cover up that bleached area.
Just like I said before, choosing the right color is key.
My advice is to choose a color for your roots that is two shades darker than your highlights.
That way, you’ll fix the problem of your bleached roots and your highlights will look much more natural.
You use the dye in the same way that you would on the blotches cause by the bleach mix with the cap technique.
Do you know why?
In both cases, the problem is at the roots, so you only need to use dye in that area.
Always follow the instructions provided by the dye manufacturer and if you have any questions, go to a salon so a hair colorist can address them.
Hair colorists are like doctors for hair color: We’re always ready for clients that need our help.
Don’t give any second thoughts to meeting with your favorite hair colorist; they’ll welcome you.
Conclusion
Highlights are one of the most asked-for techniques in salons and the one with the most admirers.
But there’s always a chance something could go wrong.
If your highlights turned out blotchy, you’ll be able to fix them with this guide.